LANDON: Hey, how's it going, man?
RICK HARRISON: I'm pretty good. What can I help you with?
Got a piece of rock and roll history for you here.
[music playing]
OK.
It's definitely an old case.
It is.
So this is a 1941 Gibson SJ-200.
It was owned by Stephen Stills of the band
Crosby, Stills, & Nash.
That is cool.
I feel like I'm in the movie "Pulp Fiction,"
and they open up the briefcase.
[laughs]
[music playing]
LANDON: I am a guitar collector.
And I bought the guitar in an auction a few months ago.
I was thrilled and a little bit terrified
because it was expensive.
But I'm looking to sell it today because that's
kind of my hobby.
I buy and sell guitars, so looking to make a profit here.
RICK HARRISON: I'm sort of amazed.
Everyone who was around in the '60s knows of Stephen Stills.
He's a guitar player who played for Buffalo Springfield.
"What It's Worth," that was the name of the song.
I mean, literally, it was considered the rebellion
hippie anthem of the 1960s.
If you heard the song, you would remember it.
Went on to create Crosby, Stills, & Nash.
He's still alive.
He's still playing.
He's literally an icon.
If he's not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I'd be shocked.
He was actually the first person
to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He was inducted first for Buffalo Springfield,
and then for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on the same day.
His music helped literally shape part of a nation.
And you have, like, documentation
this was Stephen Stills's?
I do.
I have the bill of sale.
So when he sold it to the collector
that bought it from him, he signed a bill of sale.
And I have that.
So you have the bill of sale on you, or?
It's in the case here.
So it looks like he had a music studio
sell it for him on consignment, from what I can tell.
OK, just typed it up on an envelope.
That's business.
[laughs]
LANDON: It's very professional.
"Criteria Recording Studios, bill of sale.
This is to verify the sale of a Gibson J-200 guitar, 1940,
from the personal collection of Stephen Stills
for the amount of $1,200."
And it looks like it's signed by Stephen Stills.
You know what?
It adds a little bit to it.
It does, I agree. I agree.
To me, that makes it a little bit more authentic because--
because if you're going to fake it,
who the hell would do that, you know?
Yeah, I know what you mean.
[music playing]
RICK HARRISON: I love this guitar.
It's really interesting.
But I have to be careful.
So if everything checks out, this thing
could be a serious jackpot.
It looks like someone did refinish this at one point.
It doesn't look like the original lacquer on all of it.
LANDON: I don't believe it's been refinished.
I think it's got a light overspray on it.
And there's a big difference in value as far as a refinish.
In a refinish, they strip all the--
Oh, yeah. LANDON: --finish off, sand it.
OK.
It just looks like there's been some work done to it.
OK, this is a beautiful pre-war Gibson,
which makes it worth money.
[music playing]
It belonged to a rock icon, which adds a lot of money.
And I assume you know that. [laughs]
I do.
I would absolutely love to get my hands on this guitar.
It's beautiful, it's rare, and it was owned
by a rock and roll legend.
But it almost seems too good to be true.
And there's nothing that worries me more than that.
So what do you want for it?
I'm looking to get $110,000 for it.
Ooh.
That, um, sounds like a lot.
That is a lot.
RICK HARRISON: Tell you the truth,
I don't know if that's a ridiculous number
or a fair one.
Because I know about guitars, but I don't
know everything about guitars.
And they start getting weird when they get this expensive.
You know, there's just a million and one
questions I have to ask.
What are these currently going for?
Just the guitar by itself, what does Stephen Stills add to it?
Was it the guitar that was sitting
in the corner of his studio that he never played?
So I'm going to call in my buddy, Jesse.
He's just-- this guy knows everything
there is to know about guitars.
And maybe we'll do business, OK?
Hang out.
Sounds good.
I'm a little bit anxious about what Jesse will have to say.
But I'm confident that he'll get it right.
You do not see these.
It's the 1941 SJ-200.
It was their highest-end guitar.
They introduced this model in 1938, went to war,
and they stopped making 'em.
I mean, this is it.
This is the Holy Grail.
Do you mind if I--
Go ahead.
JESSE AMOROSO: This is a really, really cool one.
It's almost too good to be true.
That's what I'm looking at, especially
looking at the back of it.
JESSE AMOROSO: You can see it's had a couple of crack repairs
and stuff, so it's kind of par for the course
with a guitar this old.
Whoever did it did a really good job--
OK.
JESSE AMOROSO: --which is-- is everything.
They didn't gob a ton of finish on it.
It's actually still pretty thin, which
is what helps the character of these guitars sound so good.
And he has some documentation saying that this
was owned by Stephen Stills.
Wow.
That's cool.
That's really cool.
RICK HARRISON: It's got to add something, right?
JESSE AMOROSO: Yeah, yeah, it does a lot, actually.
I mean, you don't see a lot of his stuff around for sale.
Mind if I strum a chord or two on it?
- Go ahead, man. - Yeah, that's cool.
I just want to hear what it sounds like, man.
It's not every day you get to play one of these.
[playing notes]
At the end of the day, ultimately,
they're meant to be played.
And this one is an exceptional player and sounds amazing.
So what are you worried about on this one?
What's it worth?
It's an expensive guitar, man. [laughs]
OK.
[laughs]
I mean, the guitar on its own is probably worth anywhere
between 75 and 90 grand just by itself,
without the Stephen Stills thing.
That's about right.
So what does Stephen Stills add to it?
JESSE AMOROSO: Stephen Stills could
add another $20,000, $30,000.
You know, that's a retail price, you know?
RICK HARRISON: OK, that's definitely a range.
Yeah, this is it. This is the one.
If you're going to buy one, this is
the only one that's available.
All right, thanks, man.
I'm going to get this figured out.
JESSE AMOROSO: No problem, man. That's a cool one.
- You're the best, man. - Dude.
- Thanks, man. - That's cool.
- Thanks. - That's a good one.
LANDON: All right, appreciate it.
See you later. LANDON: See you.
I was looking for a rag, actually, to wipe
the drool off the guitar.
Jesse was getting a little bit close there.
RICK HARRISON: I mean, what's your best price on it?
Well, give me 110.
We'll make it a deal.
110's not going to happen.
It's just not.
I'll give you 80 grand.
I can do 90.
That's going to be my--
RICK HARRISON: I think you can do 80.
No, I don't think I can do 80.
I can do 90.
That's-- that's my line, man.
I'll give you 85.
I-- I cannot go anymore.
I can't.
I've got to have 90.
OK.
Change your mind, call me.
85, man.
All right.
All right, cool, man, let's-- let's do some paperwork.
You'll have cash, and I'll have a guitar I got to sell.
- OK. - [laughs]
Well, that was actually higher than my bottom line.
But I try to be a tough negotiator myself.
And I thought it was a fair price.
So with $85,000, I'm going to go buy some more guitars.